Return to Eureka
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: When Dani Hesse returns to Eureka, she plans on staying only long enough to get the project she's been assigned to set up situated & make sure everything goes as planned. She doesn't plan on working w/childhood friend, & certainly doesn't plan on making Eureka her permanent residence. But Dani should know that Eureka wouldn't be Eureka if plans didn't go haywire. Next Generation.
1. Chapter 1

**Return to Eureka **

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Summary: When Dani Hesse returns to Eureka, she plans on staying only long enough to help get the project she's been assigned to set up situated and make sure everything goes as planned. She doesn't plan on working with a childhood friend, and _certainly_ doesn't plan on making Eureka her permanent residence. But Dani should know that Eureka wouldn't be Eureka if plans didn't go haywire.**

She stopped the car, sitting back and taking a deep breath before getting out of the car. Slipping her bookbag over her shoulder, she locked the car and made her way down the street, coming to Cafe Diem. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open and slipped side, shutting it behind her. Her eyes quickly scanned the cafe, and she made her way to the counter, taking a seat.

The owner came over, finally looking up at her. "Well, well, well. Dani Donovan. Long time no see." She glanced up at him.

"It's Hesse. Good to see you again, Leo."

"So, what'll it be?" She thought a moment.

"Um... just a... triple shot espresso latte-"

"With extra sugar?" She nodded.

"Coming right up." She gave him a quick smile, before glancing around. Cafe Diem hadn't changed in the eight years she'd been gone. In fact, Eureka itself hadn't changed. "Here you go." She looked up when the latte was set in front of her.

"Thanks." He nodded. She turned her attention to her latte, playing with her cell, becoming engrossed in old memories and lost thoughts. She didn't notice the door open, or hear someone come up behind her.

"Oh good God." Her eyes moved up and she held her breath, trying to figure out where she'd heard the voice before. "I can't believe it." After a moment, she looked up, turning. "Long time no see, Jojo." Her mouth dropped.

"Hello, Brett." He smiled at her, and she glared at him, realizing that even though she was in Eureka, he was the _last_ person she wanted to see.

Brett Haven stood next to her, his brown hair flopping into his eyes. As she stared at him, she realized that they were the same blue that she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. Of course, they'd grown up together, had once, even been best friends. He drove her nuts as they got older, and now, she wanted nothing to do with him. A glare covered her pretty face, and he shook his head.

"What do you want, Haven?" She demanded, sipping her latte. He didn't say anything for several minutes, and she turned back to face the counter, hoping he'd left.

"Just... surprised to see you back in Eureka... Josie." He replied, his breath grazing the inside of her ear. She jumped and turned, finding that she sat nose to nose with who she regarded more as her worst enemy than her best friend. Her heart started to race, and she quickly got up.

"I'm not here for long, so don't get too comfortable." She said, grabbing her drink. "I came here to help with something, and once I'm done, I'm going home." Then, she turned and rushed form the cafe, heading for her car.

"And where _is_ 'home', exactly?" He asked, following.

"None of your business!" She snapped, turning on him before climbing into her car. Then, she gunned the engine and sped off, leaving only the scent of burning rubber in her wake. He watched her go; memories of their childhood and high school spats returning.

Twenty minutes later, she shut the door to her room at the small bed and breakfast she was staying at and went to the bed, collapsing onto it. She covered her face with her hands and tried to calm her racing heart. After a moment, she turned around and buried her face in her pillow, screaming into it.

_Why?_ Why the _hell_ did she have to return to Eureka?


	2. Chapter 2

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"Welcome to Global Dynamics, the nucleus of-"

"I get it. I grew up here. My mom was... head of security." The man nodded, giving her a tense smile, clearly upset that she'd interrupted him.

"Yes, well, we're very glad to have you working with us, Miss Do-"

"Hesse. Dani Hesse." She corrected, glaring at him. He backed off, giving her space.

"Miss Hesse. Now, I can show you the various stations and-"

"Thanks, but I'm only here for one reason and one reason only. To set up the partial nuclear reformer and makes sure it runs smoothly. Once I'm done with that, I'm heading home. So, if you could point me to the research lab, I'd greatly appreaciate it."

He nodded. "Of cour-"

"I hope you weren't planning on leaving before stopping by the house for one of Dad's chinese nights- after all, that's what he's best at, getting takeout." She turned, seeing an older woman with short black hair and cocoa skin standing several feet away. She wore a pair of jeans and a red tank top, her short hair in small curls about her face. A light denim jacket was about her shoulders, open to reveal her trim figure. She looked at the woman for a moment, trying to remember where she'd seen her. But the woman beat her too it. "Don't tell me you've forgotten how Auntie Jo would try to teach Daddy how to cook. That was always the best part of the evening- watching the two of them get into it with cooking oil and rice."

After a moment, a look of recognition dawned. "Jea." Taking that as her cue, the older woman rushed to her friend, squealing in delight with arms out, which she promptly threw around the younger woman in a fierce hug. The impact nearly knocked Dani off her feet, but she regained her balance and latched onto her friend with equal force.

"I knew you wouldn't forget!"

"Hey Jea. How have you been?" Dani asked, eventually pulling away to look at her friend. The woman shrugged.

"The usual. Taking care of patients and helping to prevent the next virtual plague. Typical Eureka." Dani nodded, hands on her hips.

"Typical Eureka." She agreed.

"What about you?" Jea asked, squeezing her shoulder. "Hundreds of exciting things had to have happened to you. Especially since you disappeared off the face of the earth after graduation, and didn't even bother to send your best friend a post card." She said, trying to act upset, but unable to contain her excitement at seeing her best friend again. Dani shrugged.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Jea raised an eyebrow.

"Try me, Dan." The woman thought a moment, before nodding.

"Fine. You really want to know?"

"Of course I do."

"Good," She turned, noticing the man who was giving her a tour of GD. "But can we meet after? I have to set up something. Or... at least find the research lab."

"Oh I can take you." Jea said.

"Thanks, but aren't you supposed to be working?" The woman shrugged, sliding her arm through her friend's.

"It's my day off. Besides, I want to see what you're setting up that's so important that you had to come back to Eureka." She turned to the man. "I'll take her from here. Thank you."

And then they started off, Jea guiding Dani through the halls.

"So what happened to you? One minute I'm at your graduation, and the next, you've vanished. Do you know how upset Daddy and Mom got? They called a search party; terrified you'd been kidnapped or killed. Daddy was convinced we'd find your body in the woods, but when nothing turned up-"

"I know. I... I'm sorry, Jea. I didn't mean to worry everyone. But... I had to get away. For me. I couldn't stand being here anymore, and so..." She bit her lip. "I went off to Israel."

"Israel?" The two women stopped as Jea turned to her, eyes wide. "To do what? Live in a harem?" Shestopped at the glare she recieved. "What? I'm sorry, Dani, but finding out that my _best friend_ spent _eight_ years in Israel living as a prostitute-"

"I wasn't a prostitute." She replied as they started walking again.

"Then what were you?" Dani thought a moment.

"Mossad." Jea stopped and turned to her, startled.

"What?" She struggled to form words for several minutes. "What do you mean Mossad? Like... the ones that attacked us on 9/11? Why would you join them? Did they force you?"

Dani growled softly in her throat, irritated, before she continued walking. Slowly, Jea joined her, linking arms again. "First off, Mossad were not the ones that attacked us on 9/11. That was Al-Quida. And entirely different fraction of the Middle East. And second, I wasn't forced into Mossad. I volunteered."

"Why?"

"Because. I wanted to. And they didn't just _let_ me in. I had to join the Tzahal, in order to prove my worth. It's the Israeli army, and it's mandatory for all Israeli women. Two years before you're allowed into Mossad, but I trained with the Mossad officers for those two years as well."

"But you're not Israeli." Jea replied. She turned to her friend. "Did you conv- you didn't!" She cried as Dani nodded, lifting a chain up from beneath her blouse. A silver Star of David hung between her fingers, and she quickly stuffed it back beneath the fabric.

"I wanted to. I chose to."

"How did your mom react?" Dani shrugged.

"She was fine with it. Said that as long as I didn't shove it down her throat, I could be whatever religion I wanted." Jea nodded, eventually reaching out and pressing a code into a keypad. Once the door slid open, she led Dani into the room.

"This is the research lab."

"Thanks." Dani replied, pulling away and going to the nearest computer to start setting up.

"Don't tell me. You're working here now?" Her eyes snapped up and she stared at Jea, who didn't respond. After a moment, she slowly turned around.

Brett stood several feet away from her, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. She clenched her jaw, telling herself to remain calm. "_What_ are you doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

**RIfiuto: Non Miriena**

"Oh no, what are_ you_ doing here?"

He scoffed. "I work here. The question is, what are_ you_ doing here?"

She squared her shoulders, narrowing her eyes. "I'm here on business."

"Business?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. She nodded. "Oh, let me guess, this is the business you mentioned back at Cafe Diem?"

Jea looked from Dani to Brett and back, confused. "Wait a minute, you didn't tell me that you ran into Brett at-"

"Not important!" Dani snapped. The older woman shut up. "And yes. This is what I mentioned, not that it concerns you." She said, turning back to Brett.

"But I'm going to be working with it, so it does concern me... Josie." He said, tacking on her old nickname just to annoy her. She glowered at him.

_"Shut up."_ Then, she turned her back to him, dropping the bookbag she'd slung over her shoulder onto the ground. She knelt down and began removing several sheets of rolled up paper from the bag, along with a pair of latex gloves and a set of goggles. She pulled her dark hair back in a tight ponytail, slipped the goggles on and pulled the gloves over her small hands before unrolling the blueprints. "Where's the reformer?"

"We were working on setting it up." One of the lab techs replied. She stood, turning to him.

"What? Where is it?"

He pointed to the right, and she rushed towards it, skidding to a halt several feet from the platform. The reformer- or what was supposed to be the reformer- sat in a heap of hastily glued and screwed together metal and wires in the middle of the small platform. Her mouth dropped in shock, and she turned back to those in the research lab.

"That's my reformer, but that's not how it's supposed to look. You were all supposed to wait until I got here! _I_ am the only one authorized to set it up! It's_ my_ project!"

"Sorry, we didn't know-" One of the techs started, but Dani ignored him, stepping up to the platform and pulling a piece of mangled paper from the mess. She unfolded it, and quickly read the writing. She turned to the others, holding up the paper.

"This says _DO NOT TOUCH!_ What part of that do you _not understand?"_ They all just looked at her. She dropped her hand and rolled her eyes. "For a town of geniuses, they're all idiots." She muttered.

"Um... Dani..."

_"What now?"_ She demanded, turning to Jea, who rushed over and grabbed her friend, pulling her away from the mess. They slammed into the nearby wall.

_"Everyone get down!"_ Jea fell to her knees, ducking under the nearest table; Dani was shoved into Brett by a nearby tech, and the two ducked under a nearby table as the mess exploded. Smoke filled the room, and the doors slid open, as people flooded out to get fresh air. Smoke gradually filtered out of the room, and after several minutes, Jea, Brett and several other techs climbed out from under the tables, making their way towards the platform. Dani was the last to join them; so stunned was she by the close contact she'd had with Brett.

She pushed through the small group, stepping to the front, to see what _should_ have been her partial nuclear reformer- now nothing more than a heap of warped, smoking metal and wire in the middle of the platform. Some of it was splattered across the walls and dripped from the ceiling. Her mouth fell open and she ripped the goggles from her head, dropping them to the floor. She stepped onto the platform and slowly began going through the various mess at her feet.

"My reformer... you... you... you _destroyed_ my_ partial nuclear reformer...you... YOU IDIOTS!"_ She whirled on all of them, seeing red. "This was a_ two thousand dollar project!_ Do you know how many_ hoops I had to jump through to get Washington to agree to this?_ Do you know how many people I had to _beg to let me agree to bring this here? And you've destroyed it in a matter of a few hours!"_

"_What is going on here_?"

Everyone turned, to see an older man in a sheriff's uniform make his way through the now growing crowd towards the platform. He stopped at the step, and took in the damage done, before his eyes landed on Dani. "Oh crap, don't tell me something else explod- Dani? Is that you?" Her head snapped up, and she stared at him confused, before turning back to her ruined project.

"This is going to take thousands to replace! I can't get Congress to agree to it! It took me _months_ to get them to agree to this one!" She sat down hard on the platform, trying to make sense of the wreckage that had once been her reformer. "My reformer... you _destroyed my reformer..._"

After a moment, the sheriff knelt next to her, laying a hand on Dani's shoulder. "I'm awful sorry, Dani. Is there something we can do?"

"Can you get Congress to agree to give me another one?" She asked, not turning to look at him. He sighed, and turned back to Jea, who shrugged. He stood, helping the shocked young woman to her feet. Once they were off the platform, he led her out of the research lab.

"Come on, let's get you to the infirmary so we can get you cleaned up."

"Why?" She asked; though she didn't appear shocked, it was evident that she was in more than just shock over her project exploding, she was obviously worried about losing her high-ranking job whereever she worked.

"Because you have a gash the length of a foot-long stringbean running across your forehead." He replied, as they entered the infirmary. He sat her on the edge of one of the beds, as a nurse came over and checked her.

"Jack? What's going on?" They looked up; an older woman with long dark hair rushed over to them, but she stopped when she saw who was sitting with Jack. "Who... who's this?"

Before she could respond, Jea entered the infirmary, followed minutes later by Brett. Dani stared at the older woman, confused. She looked up to see Jea catching her breath. "Jenna, wh-"

But the younger woman interrupted her. "Hi Mom." She gestured to Dani. "Remember Dani? Jo and Zane's daughter?"


	4. Chapter 4

**RIfiuto: Non Miriena**

Allison Carter looked from Jack to the young woman and back, confused. After a moment, she stepped closer, finally staring into the woman's face. And she saw it.

Jo's eyes, Zane's cheekbones. Jo's long, black hair, Zane's nose. Her mother's usually calm demeanor and her father's recklessness.

She was Jo and Zane through and through.

And right now, she was in a state of shock.

Taking a deep breath, Allison grabbed a small flashlight and got to work. She turned the light on and gently lifted the young woman's eyelids, checking to make sure her dark blue eyes weren't damaged in any way.

"Dani, can you hear me?"

It took a moment, but the girl finally nodded. Jack glanced back at Jenna, who stood close to her father, arms crossed, worry on her face.

"Will she be okay, Mom?"

"She's in shock." Allison replied, glancing quickly at her daughter. "Lay back for me, Dani." Gently, she helped the girl lay back, then turned to one of the orderlies. "I need casterlock! She's going into shock! Now!" People scattered everywhere, obeying the doctor's command. She turned back to the young woman before her. "I'm going to give you something to relax you, okay? I want you to take deep breaths and stay still. This wont' take very long." The girl did as told, whimpering softly as she injected her with the sedative and then worked on the cut on her forehead. In a matter of minutes, Allison's voice faded into the background and she conked out.

"Open your eyes, Dani girl. Time to get up." She did as told, slowly, as her vision swam in front of her. Confusion appeared on her face, before her eyes fully opened and she found herself looking into her mother's dark eyes.

She looked around quickly. She was back home, in the house on Corilois Loop, laying on the sofa in the living room. The TV was off, and her jacket lay in a crumpled heap on the floor near the door. It was quiet; not a sound came from upstairs. After a moment, she pushed herself up, causing her mother to pull back.

"What happened?" She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You came home from school and conked out, that's what happened. I knew you were tired, but I didn't know you were that tired." Her mom got to her feet, going into the kitchen. She looked around, seeing no one but her and her mom.

"Where are-"

"Out with friends. They didn't want to disturb you." She turned back to her mom, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Ow." She reached up, grabbing her forehead. When she pulled her hand away, she discovered blood on her fingers.

"Oh, baby, what did you do?" She looked up as her mother came back to the sofa, two cups of coffee in her hands. She set both on the table, and took her daughter's hand, before checking her forehead.

"I... I don't..." But suddenly, her mom seemed to get farther away, almost like she was being pulled through a tunnel. The voice that roused her from her sleep now didn't belong to her mother.

"Dani. Dani, can you hear me? Can you wake up for me, Dani?"

"Mom?" Her sleep-filled confused whisper caused everyone to share startled looks. After a moment, Allison shook her head.

"No, Dani. It's Dr. Carter. You were in an accidental explosion in the research lab. Can you tell me where you are?"

The young woman closed her eyes briefly at the pain in her forehead. She reached up, feeling across her forehead. "2340 Corilois Loop." She replied, removing her hand. Fear filled her eyes as she stared at the blood on her fingers. Allison shared a look with her husband.

"No Dani. You're in the infirmary at GD. You were involved in an explosion in the research lab." Allison said again, softer this time as she helped the woman sit up. She looked around at the people gathered around her; it took a moment for her to recognize every face, but eventually, she did. "Don't you remember?" Allison asked gently.

"Kind of." She said, looking at Allison. Something hit her, and she climbed off the bed, but Jack forced her back. _"My reformer! Oh God, Washington is going to kill me!"_ She struggled for several minutes, and Allison turned to Jenna and Brett.

"That's what... blew up in the research lab, Mom." Jenna said. "Her... partial nuclear reformer." Allison nodded, turning back to Dani, who had managed to squirm out of Jack's grasp, only to succeed in sitting on the floor with the sheriff helping her up and back to the bed, due to the amount of stress on her body. Jack now stood trying to get the girl to calm down.

"No, _you don't understand! Two thousand dollars just blew up in that lab! Two thousand dollars_ that I had to_ beg Congress to clear! I had to get special clearance from Washington to bring it... clear across the country and it's gone! It's smouldering wire and liquid metal in that lab! Two thousand dollars! My career is over! If Washington finds out... I lose everything! My... my career... my lab... my life... Oh God! My career! It's gone! In a puff of smoke, it's gone! I'm the highest ranking official in the Partial Nuclear Physics Lab in Washington and in... five minutes, it's gone... I've lost everything... Oh God, I've lost everything..."_ She broke down, sitting on the edge of the bed and burying her face in her hands.

Everyone watched as the young woman broke down completely. The only thing that broke their surpise was someone new entering the equation.

"Where is she? Where's my daughter? _Where's Dani_?"


	5. Chapter 5

**RIfiuto: Non Miriena**

**Thanks to mondler1998 for reviewing 4.**

Everyone turned as an older woman pushed her way into the infirmary. She looked around for several minutes, before her eyes finally landed on Dani. She rushed to her, shoving Jack aside and throwing her arms around the younger woman. It took a few minutes, before everyone realized who the woman was.

Jo.

Global Dynamics' Head of Security, former Chief Deputy of Eureka under Sheriff Carter, wife and mother, Josephina Lupo wrapped her arms tight around her daughter, holding her close.

"Oh Dani, are you okay, baby?" She asked, pulling away to examine her daughter. Her eyes traveled over her daughter's forehead, taking in the gash, the smoke and soot on her daughter's body. She looked around, her eyes going from face to face. "What happened? _What happened_ to my daughter?" She demanded.

"Mom?" Dani's stunned whisper caused her to turn back to her.

"It's okay, I'm here, Dani girl. I'm right here."

"Her.. partial nuclear reformer blew up, Aunt Jo. In the research lab." Jo turned to look at Jenna, who bit her lip. After a moment, Jo turned to Carter, who slowly met her eyes.

_"And you didn't tell me?"_ She demanded, smacking Carter on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I got there minutes after the explosion happened! I'm sorry, Jo!" Carter said, holding his hands up.

"Jo," The older woman turned to Allison. "Dani's fine. She's suffering from a minor case of shock, but other than that, she'll be fine." Jo nodded, turning back to the girl. She gently brushed a strand of black hair away from the girl's eyes, and gave her a quick smile.

"Well, this isn't the way I wanted to welcome my baby home, but, I guess it'll have to do." She then pulled away from the girl and hurried into the hall, coming back with a to-go box, which she handed to Dani.

"What's this, Mom?"

Jo sighed. "Treats. When I heard you were coming back to Eureka, I had Leo make your favorite foods- all of your favorite foods." Dani looked over the box, afraid to open it. "Olives stuffed with bleu cheese, deviled eggs filled with chocolate pudding," She rolled her eyes as everyone else cringed in disgust. "Egg salad, whole jalepeno peppers," She then grabbed a spoon that had been sticking out of the box, and pulled something from behind her back. "And rocky road ice cream."

Tears came to the younger woman's eyes, and she took the carton of ice cream her mother offered her. "Thank you. But... how did you..."

"Fargo called me into his office and... told me about your little... project. Let me take the week off, to... get ready to welcome you home." Jo replied, giving her daughter a smile. Dani looked down at the goodies, before turning her gaze back to her mother. She bit her lip before asking,

"Have you heard anything from Eri? Or... or Ni?" Jo's face fell.

"No. I haven't heard from either of them. And... until now, I hadn't heard from you either. Where were you?"

Dani ducked her head, slowly opening the carton and removing the spoon. She pulled her legs under her and stuck the spoon into the ice cream. Taking a quick bite, she shrugged.

"You know where I was, Mom. It's where I've been for eight years, ever since graduation. Don't pretend like you don't know. I let you know when I left." She said, taking another bite.

"I know, but no one else does. So why don't you enlighten everyone?" The girl swallowed, looking up at the others, who all waited for her response. After a moment, she shrugged, sticking the spoon in her mouth.

"Just... about. Seeing places and doing things..."

"Dani." Jo reached over and took the carton from her daughter, giving the girl her trademark stare. After a moment, the girl removed the spoon and licked her lips.

"I... I was in the Middle East..."

"Training and working with Mossad, for eight years. She even converted." Dani looked up at Jenna, startled that her best friend would betray her like that. "Don't look at me like that. They were going to find out eventually."

The girl deflated slightly, sticking the spoon in her mouth.

"Wait a minute, you mean you joined a terrorist fraction?" Carter cried.

"Dad-"

"It's not a terrorist fraction, Jack! It's a fraction that helps fight against Al-Quida. It's an entirely different part of the Middle East; Mossad are our allies." Jo said, turning back to her daughter.

"Let me guess, you're a weapons expert." Jack said. Dani nodded.

"Yeah. Knives are my specialty, though."

"Knives?"

"Knife throwing. I can hit any target, moving or stable. And my aim is usually fatal." Dani said, as Jack paled.

"Just like your mother. Except she likes guns." Dani chuckled softly, reaching out for the carton. After a moment, Jo handed it back to her.

"So... is there... a special someone, that you've been seeing?" Jack asked. Dani looked up, confused.

"Jack!" Jo turned on her best friend. He ignored her.

"What do you-"

"I mean," Jack stepped up to the bed, looking Dani in the eye. "Is there a Zane Donovan that you're involved with?" The girl glanced at her mother, who closed her eyes and groaned. Brett moved closer, wanting to hear her answer, silently hoping that she would say no.


	6. Chapter 6

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

Dani glanced around,unsure of what she should say. After a moment, she cleared her throat, saying,

"No. There... there's no one. Which is just the way I like it."

Gently, Allison laid a hand on her shoulder, but the girl pulled away and took another bite of the ice cream. Moments passed in silence, before Allison turned to everyone else.

"All right, let's give Dani some time to recoup. She's had a long, stressful day. Let's give her some time."

Slowly, everyone left, giving her well-wishes and telling her how glad they were that she was home. Only Carter and Jo remained by her side.

"I never thought I'd see you back here, Dan." Jack said, as the young woman lay back among the pillows. "Good to have you back, Kiddo."

"Thanks Uncle Jack." He kissed her forehead quickly, before slipping into the hall. Once he was gone, Jo turned to her daughter.

"Are you okay?" Dani nodded. "How were you, over there?" She asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Dani sighed.

"Okay. I... I lost a lot of friends, to the Taliban... raids and, attempts to get civilians out of the way of targets... we lost more than one officer... I attended way to many funerals in eight years, I don't ever want to go to another."

Jo listened to her daughter talk, memories of her own experience in the Middle East coming back; watching friends and fellow Rangers get killed, sending their bodies home sometimes in pieces, or just sending home empty coffins. She knew the havoc war caused and reaked on a person, and she hated discovering that war had also reaked havoc on her own child. After a moment, she reached out and took Dani's hand.

"If you need me, you can always come home."

"Thanks Mom, but... I won't be staying. Once... Aunt Allison gives me clearance, I'm going back to D.C. And this time, I won't be coming back." Jo nodded, tears in her eyes, as she leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead.

"I love you, Dani girl."

"I love you too, Mom."

Carter looked up when Jo came out of the infirmary five minutes later. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "You okay?" Jo nodded, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. I just... it's been eight years... when I saw her last, she was ten and had just graduated high school... and now... now she's eighteen... and working for Washington..."

"Come on, let's go get a cup of coffee."

They settled into their usual table at Cafe Diem minutes later, steaming cups of coffee in their hands. Jo had caught Carter up in the car on what Dani had said, and now, he sat trying to console her.

"It's just... the thought of my baby going away again, when I've just gotten her back... and..." Jo wiped her eyes. "I don't know where either Eri or Ni are... all three of them dropped off the face of the earth after they graduated..."

"Yeah, but Eri and Ni at least kept in contact. Not much, but better than Dani." Jack muttered, sipping his coffee. Jo dropped her hand and stared at him.

"They're _my kids_, Jack."

"I know, Jo, I know. I'm sorry, it... it's just a shock, having Dani back after all these years..."

"Tell me about it." Jo muttered. The pair looked up when Brett entered. "What's the deal with Dani and Brett?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, watching the younger man go to the counter.

"They were best friends as children. He did everything he could think of to get her attention; from... blowing up my garage to setting our pool on fire."

"Yeah, everything but pulling her pigtails and shoving her to the ground." Jack said. "Which is what normal boys do when they like girls."

"Brett's not normal, Jack. Neither is Dani. None of these kids are."

"Yeah, I know. Discovering a cure for AIDS at sixteen-"

"Eri was always good with diseases."

"Hacking into GD's computer system and linking it to the New York Stock Exchange and then 'accidentally' crashing it, all the while destroying the computer foundation for all of Wall Street's banks." Jo chuckled softly.

"You know Dani's always been a whiz with computers. She's a master hacker, just like..." Her eyes misted over, and she fell silent before eventually shaking it off and giving him a small smile.

"Yeah, well we both know who she learned that from." Jack replied. "Attempting to recreate the impact of eurons and protons or whatever..."

"Neutrons and electrons in an attempt to recreate the first time atoms came together to form DNA." Jo corrected. "And yes, that's my Niall. Always interested in the origins of man."

"Yeah, and a criminal record fifty pages long." Jo rolled her eyes.

"So my kids have a bit of wild streak-"

"A bit? Jo, have you forgotten that I was locking either Niall or Dani into my cell every other day? The trouble those two got into-"

"Don't forget Brett. He was the ringleader in most of it."

"No, Jo, the ringleader was Dan. It was always Dan."

"Hey Ms Lupo." The pair turned, to see Brett holding a cup of coffee and a to-go box.

"Hello Brett."

"How's Dani?" Jo thought a moment.

"She's good. She's gonna be fine." He relaxed, giving them both a relieved smile.

"Good. Give her my best."

"Will do." Once he was gone, Jo turned back to Carter. "He's going to be crushed when he finds out that she's going back to Washington."


	7. Chapter 7

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

Four days later, Dani slipped her bags into the trunk of her car and turned to the small group that had gathered.

"Well, goodbye."

"You can't go, Dani." Jenna said, wrapping her in her arms. "You just got here."

"I know, Jea, but I have to get back to Washington and... clean up my mess..." Her cell rang, and she pulled away, answering it. "Hello? Senator Nika, it's good to hear from you... yes, ah... I'm in Eureka... with my... my partial nuclear reform... listen, Senator, about that... there... there was a little... you could say that... more like a... a big... bang... um... I... I'm really, really sorry... I... I just... It wasn't my _fault..._ please, can't we just talk... I... I know I need to go before Congress... I understand that I just... blew up over... two million... I... once again, I'm really sorry... I just... you can't do that!... no, you can't... No... no please don't... Dr. Walker, what a pleasant surprise... no, no, I... I know it's not good... I understand... yes... yes... no! Dr. Walker, you _can't..._ yes, I understand that you're the head of... please, Dr, just... _just give me one more chance, I promise, it won't happen again! I... I promise_... Yes, Dr. Walker, I... I understand. Thank you... goodbye."

She hung up the phone and turned back to everyone. "Well, I just lost my job. Looks like I'm stuck here." She glanced down at her phone, and then threw it, watching as it disappeared from view. "What do I do now?" Jea glanced at the others, excitement on her face.

"You stay here."

"And do what, Jenna? Wait tables at Cafe Diem?" Dani asked.

"No, you come to work for GD. After all, you have an in- more than one in." She glanced back at Fargo, Allison and Jo, who all shared quick glances.

"No. _NO! I am not going to work for GD! Everyone_ works for GD!" Dani cried, turning on Jenna.

"Dani, you have family in GD. You can be part of a community."

"Well maybe I don't _want_ to be part of a community."

Jack cringed, as Dani spoke her father's words.

"Dani, like it or not, you are. You're every bit a part of Eureka, and it's every bit a part of you." Jo cut in, going to her daughter.

"No I'm not. I never was. _You_ are. You and Uncle Jack, and Aunt Ali and Jea and Uncle Doug... but I'm not. I never have been, and neither has Dad. We've never fit in." Jo sighed. "You and Ni and..."

Someone pulled up next to the car, and climbed out. Dani ignored the new arrival until they joined the group.

"Long time no see, little sister."

She turned, finding herself face to face with-

"Eri?"

"Hey D." Dani's mouth dropped as her older sister came over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What's been going on with you lately?"

The younger woman seemed to be in shock, but eventually, she looked up at her sister, giving her a strained smile. "Not much. I came back here to set up my partial nuclear reformer, and instead it blew up, and I just lost my job. You?"

"Ouch. I'm so sorry, Sis." Dani nodded.

"Yeah. So am I." She pulled away and went to the car, kicking the tire. "So that means, that I'm going to die in this crap town- the very same town I managed to escape for eight years. This is hell! I'm in hell!"

"No you're not. You're home." Eri said, tossing her short black hair out of her face. She wrapped her sister in a hug, before going to Jo and wrapping her in a hug. "Hey Mom."

"What are you doing here, Erica?" Jo asked, pulling away to look at her oldest daughter.

"I was recruited."

"So, how much for _your_ head?" Carter asked, as everyone turned to look at him.

"Thirty thousand." Eri replied softly. Carter thought a moment.

"Huh. Five more than your dad." The girls shared confused glances, before looking back at Jack. "Never mind. It's good to see you again, Kiddo." Jack said, going to Eri and wrapping her in a hug. "So, my two favorite girls are back in town. For _good_." He said, looking at Dani, who gave him a sheepish smile and turned away. "So, where are you two staying?"

Eri shrugged. "Ah... I don't know."

"You're more than welcome to stay with us." Allison said, going to the girls. Both of you. And I'm sure SARAH would be thrilled to have you; after all, you grew up with Jenna."

"No thanks, Aunt Ali." Dani started, pulled away from the older woman.

"Sure." Allison smiled and gave the older girl a hug. She went to her car and opened the door, sitting on the passager seat, head in her hands. Jo went to her, kneeling next to her.

"What's wrong, Dani girl?"

"My career is over. I was a leading official... and... it's gone... in a matter of minutes..."

"You're career isn't over, Dani. You're one of the most intelligent minds of this generation. You're a... a Copley winner, an Oppenhiemer Award winner two years running, a John C. Carty Award winner, you've won the Majorana Prize for your theoretical theories on global string theory, the Henry Draper medal twice, the Matteucci Medal for your contributions to general science, the George Van Biesbroeck Prize, and... the-"

Dani sighed. "Yeah, I know what one." She looked up at Carter, who had brought up her awards and medals.

"The one they stopped giving out, because the bar was set so high. And they gave it to the last recipient's daughter." Carter said, looking at Dani. She turned her gaze to her nails. "And we all know who the previous recipient was-"

"Dad." Eri said, wrapping her arms around herself. Dani nodded, trying not to notice as tears came to Jo's eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"You'll be working in the partical physics lab, at least until we get your paperwork back. Then, we'll be able to properly place you in the correct section, although, since physics is your strong point, you might end up staying in this lab anyway. Any questions?" Fargo asked, as they entered the lab in question. Dani looked around.

"Yeah. Just one. Why me? What did I do to deserve a punishment like this?"

_"Dani-"_ Jo's stern voice stopped Fargo from answering.

"I'm serious, Mom! I don't deserve this! I should be back in Washington, not... here in this... crappy little town." Jo rolled her eyes, giving her daughter a shove into the room.

"Give it time, Dani." Fargo said, squeezing her shoulder before the two left. "Has she always been like this?" He asked, as he and Jo left the physics lab and returned to the rotundra.

"Remember when she hacked into GD and somehow managed to tune all of the computers to playing 'Farmer in the Dell' whenever anyone walked through the doors?" Jo asked. Fargo nodded, remembering how he'd beared witness to the severe scolding the child had recieved after being caught.

"Yeah. She blamed it on Niall and then threw a temper tantrum when you locked her in your cell for an hour."

"And then somehow, she figured out how to get out and escaped. We found her in the heating vents over the shooting range, remember?" Jo asked, chuckling softly at the memory.

"How old was she? Ten?"

"Four." Jo replied. "She'd already been accepted to Yale and Columbia and Brown and MIT and Oxford, but chose none of them. Instead, she... went to Israel and... joined Mossad... started working for them as an informant and an officer, and by the... by the time she was twelve... she was already a high ranking official in Mossad... _while_ working for Washington..."

Fargo chuckled softly. "Brightest of her class. Also the most trouble."

"I don't know how many times I'd get a call from Andy and have to come spring my daughter from Carter's cell... I left her in there once or twice." Fargo rolled his eyes.

"She gets her brain from you, you know that, Jo?" The woman shook her head.

"No. She gets her love of weaponry from me. She gets her brain from..." She stopped, her eyes misting over. It was rare, for the Head of Security to show her emotions, but when she did, they always choked her up.

"Are you ever going to forgive him, Jo?" Fargo asked, stopping and turning to her. The pair stood in the middle of the rotundra. Jo shook her head.

"Why should I? He married me just long to have three children with me, and then once Niall was born, he was gone. Said he had to 'find himself.' Bullshit. He just didn't want the responsibility." Fargo listened, reaching up to squeeze her shoulder. "Dani blames herself, for him leaving. When she was little... she always said that if she'd been a good girl, maybe he wouldn't have left, but..."

"It wasn't her fault, Jo. It wasn't your fault. He just... he wasn't willing to accept responsibility for those kids. And... unfortunately, he left you to raise them. And you did a damn good job."

"But his father left him when he was a child, he knew what it was like. He shouldn't have wanted his children to go through that. But that's _exactly_ what he did. He put them through that. Put me through that."

After a moment, Fargo wrapped her in a hug, stroking her back. When he pulled away, he took her face in his hands.

"You listen to me, Jo. You are a wonderful mother. You did wonders raising those kids. And... they may not have had Zane, but they had Carter and Henry and Vincent and I and... all the rest of Eureka. We all helped raise them. And they turned out pretty amazing. All of them- Erica, Dani, Niall. They're all wonderful kids. You did right by them, Jo. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Don't ever doubt that, okay?"

She nodded.

"Good. Come on, let's stop by Cafe Diem for a quick meal."

"But-"

"We can check on Dani later. She'll be fine, she's a smart girl."

Jo sighed. "Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of."


	9. Chapter 9

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"So, how does it feel to have both Donovan girls back in Eureka?" Vincent asked, joining Carter, Allison and Jo at a booth in the back corner. His son had taken over Cafe Diem, following in his culinary footsteps. Carter sighed in contentment.

"It's great. I mean, we watched those girls grow up. Hell, we were there when they were born... Ali delivered both of them-"

"And Niall." Allison added, sipping her coffee.

Jo kept quiet.

"It's really wonderful having them back." Carter said, as if having both of Jo's daughters in the same town meant less work for him as Sheriff. They all looked up as the door opened and Erica entered, Dani in tow. Eri grabbed her sister's hand, turning to face her. A heated arguement seemed to be taking place between the siblings, and they took a seat at the counter, still wrapped up in whatever they were discussing. "They're beautiful, Jo. They truly are."

"You've grown soft in your old age, Carter." Jo replied, watching her girls. Leo set cups of coffee in front of them both, but they ignored him.

"Nah, I've just missed them." He watched as the arguement continued. Erica slammed her hand on the table, knocking over her sister's cup. It splashed onto her sister's blouse, staining the navy blue fabric. Quickly, the girl climbed off the stool and removed her jacket before grabbing napkins and attempting to clean the stain. She shoved Erica away when she tried to help, and turned to go, only to slam into Brett. He asked if everything was all right, and she shoved past him, rushing from the cafe.

"What was that all about?" Allison asked.

"I have no idea." It had been three weeks since Dani had _reluctantly_ agreed to work for GD, and the young woman hadn't settled in well. She'd refused family dinners at the Carters', prefering to grab a meal at Cafe Diem and take it back to her hotel. Eri had gotten an apartment and settled in fine, but her sister was having trouble adjusting.

Then again, Dani had always been the wild one.

Jo sipped her coffee, her mind wandering to her children. From the time she was born, Dani had gotten herself into trouble. Hacking into GD's security system when she was three; crashing the Stock Exchange at five; transfering over $1,000 from the National Food and Drug Administration to fund a pet store at age eight; the girl was a felon in the making, according to Carter.

She'd learned how to shoot a pistol at four; a rifle at seven, and by nine, was already using a Glock 22. She'd turned a sniper rifle on Carter three weeks before graduating high school at ten, and narrowly missed blowing Fargo's head off with a Baretta 92 the day before she graduated.

Carter had set up a near permanent residence for Dani in his cell for one infraction or another- from setting off advanced cherry bombs with hydrolic charge in the local library, to breaking into her mom's office at all hours of the night to get her hands on her mother's Colt Anaconda in order to shoot a colony of squirrels that were taking up residence in the tree by her bedroom window, to tasering her own brother for switching her shampoo with maple syrup- the girl seemed destined for Rikers, not Mossad.

But somehow, between graduating high school and fleeing to the Middle East, she'd grown up. Sure, she was still the scrappy little girl that Carter would shove into his cell for something as simple as stealing his patrol car and attempting to run over Brett Haven in the middle of a near nuclear explosion, but under all that, she was still the daughter of Carter's best friend.

He'd held her when she was born; taught her to ride a bike and helped her build her science projects. After Zane left, he'd taken on more of a father role than ever- scaring away the boys that were interested in her and teaching her how to drive. He'd embarrassingly tried to give her "the talk" at age ten, not long after discovering that she and Brett had gotten caught in _quite_ a compromising position in the school locker room- instead, she'd given him the talk, when he failed to even start the conversation and fell into a beet red mess, at the fact that _he_ had to talk to her and not Jo or Allison.

She'd gone running to Carter when Brett picked on her, or when she and Eri got into a fight; when Ni refused to stop bugging her, or when Jo was being overprotective. He remembered watching over Jo when she was pregnant with her; feeling the baby kick against his hand, being by her side when she'd gone into labor.

Now he watched Jo, realizing that she hadn't worn a real smile until her daughters returned. For years, she'd been sullen and moody, heartbroken, though she tried to hide it. And Carter had wanted to kill Zane, for leaving her with the kids.

They'd been happy; the younger man had been estatic when his girls were born, and Carter, being ever protective of his best friend, had forwarned Zane that if he did anything to hurt Jo or his children, his head would be on a silver platter at the next family dinner. He thought the man had listened.

Apparently not.

But Jo had done good; she'd raised the kids as best she could alone, and what she couldn't do alone, she'd turned to the rest of Eureka for help. She'd curled in Carter's arms more than once and balled over her failed marriage...

And then she'd remarried.

The kids hadn't been as accepting of their stepfather as Jo was, but it was understandable.

Carter agreed with the kids.

As far as he was concerned, Jo and Zane _belonged_ together.

As far as Eureka was concerned, Jo Lupo and Zane Donovan were meant to be.

Unfortunately, Zane didn't think so.


	10. Chapter 10

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

She quickly did the last button on the clean blouse she wore, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the partical physics lab, passing by everyone and going to her computer. She ignored the stares and whispers being thrown her way, prefering to focus on her work.

"Hey." She jumped, turning to find herself face-to-face with Brett.

"What do you want? Come to gloat over the fact that I'm stuck in this crap town?" She asked, turning back to her work.

"No. I came to ask if you wanted to go get a bite to eat later."

"A bite? Well, we wouldn't want you to commit to a whole meal, would we?" She said sarcastically, never taking her eyes off her work. He sighed.

"Come on, Don-"

"_Don't_ you _dare_ use that name. I am_ not_ related to that man." She growled, looking up at him. He held up his hands.

"Sorry... what do you want me to call you then?" He asked, leaning against the table. She thought a moment.

"Hesse. Hesse is just fine."

"I... thought you hated your stepfather."

"I do. But not as much as I hate him." She replied, typing in a formula.

"Then why take his name?"

"Because if it means I don't have to have _his_ name, then I'm happy."

"You're not happy, Josie. You never were." Brett said, leaning close to whisper in her ear. Chills ran up her spine as his nickname for her entered her hearing, and slowly, she turned to look at him. Their lips were inches apart, and she had to tell herself that she wasn't interested in closing the gap. "It just got worse after your dad left."

She pulled away and headed towards another computer, punching in another equation. "It didn't just get worse, it wasn't a good situation to begin with." She said, biting her lip.

"He wasn't-"

"He wasn't abusive, just neglectful. Of all of us. Why do you think Ni and I turned out like we did? We've both got criminal records twenty miles long- all except for Eri, who's become so obsessed with crossing diseases and finding cures because she felt she had to take care of us after he left. And that includes taking care of Mom. She became so protective, that she smothered both Ni and I, and as soon as I saw the chance, I fled."

"So you went all the way to the Middle East and became a Taliban fighter to get away from your sister?" Brett asked, not buying it. She dropped the pad she was working calculations on.

"For the _last_ time, I was _not_ part of the Taliban, I was part of _Mossad_! An _entirely_ different fraction of the Middle East!" She snapped, turning to him. "Get that through your heads, people! I'm one of the good guys!" The others turned to look at her, and she ducked her head, turning back to her work.

"I-"

"All right, come Dani." She looked up, Jo was at her side, a hand on her back.

"Mom, what-"

"Come on, let's go for a walk." She led her daughter from the room, casting a quick glance at Brett as they passed. They walked through the halls in silence, before taking a seat on a bench outside the infirmary. "You want to tell me what that was about?"

Dani sighed, glancing up at her mom. "So what, you're spying on me now?"

"No, I was making my rounds." She cleared her throat. "I heard what you said. About..."

"Dad?" Jo nodded. "I meant what I said, Mom. It wasn't good to begin with- at all. All he did was neglect us- all of us. He didn't care about any of us, least of all you."

"Dani-" Her daughter looked up as Jo reached out and took her hand. "I know you think it was a bad situation, but you have to understand. Dad did love me. He loved you and your brother and sister. He just..."

"Didn't want the responsibility. Well if he didn't want the responisibility, he should have thought twice before getting you pregnant." She stood to go, but Jo stopped her.

_"Dani."_ She turned, the hurt in Jo's eyes and the strain in her voice was enough to give her pause and return to her seat. "You and Erica and Niall are the best thing to ever happen to me. I can't imagine my life without you in it. You have your father to thank for that." The girl ducked her head. "If it wasn't for Zane, you wouldn't be here. It's his DNA coursing through your veins."

"Yeah, and as soon as I figure out how to strip whole cells from the double helix without destroying the cell in the process, I'm going to remove his. Permanently." Jo sighed, briefly covering her face with her hands.

"You can't do that, Dani."

"Why not?" She demanded, turning to her mother.

"Because if you strip one strand of DNA, you destroy the helix, and cease to exist. You have Zane Donovan's DNA in you, and I don't care whether you like it or not, you have to accept that. Now, for all Zane's faults, he loved you. And he loved me. He loved me enough to give me you and your siblings- Dani, next to him, you and your brother and sister are the loves of my life."

"Why? Why do you still count him?"

"Because he was- he is. He always will be. Zane Donovan and I have a history that you... that you can't even _begin_ to understand. It's too... complicated." The girl was silent. Footsteps broke the silence, as Eri rushed up to them, removing her cell from her ear.

"Glad I found you both."

"Eri? What's wrong?" Jo asked.

"I just got off the phone with Uncle Jack."

"What's wrong now? Can't open a jar of pickles without breaking a nail?" Jo asked sarcastically.

"No. He wants us to come down to the station. Says he has something he wants us to see."


	11. Chapter 11

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"Well, I can't say I'm_ surprised_. Although I can say that I never thought I'd see this again."

Neither girl replied. Nor did the young man sitting on the cot in Carter's cell. He didn't look up, didn't speak, just shuffled his feet. Moments passed, before Jo looked back at Carter, waiting for his response.

"Jo, are you sure-"

"Good to see you again, Niall. Long time no see."

"Same here, Dani." The older couple turned back.

"Yeah, Jack. I'm sure. That's my Niall." Carter nodded, laying a comforting hand on her back.

"What are you doing here, Ni?" Erica asked, hands on her hips. The younger man cleared his throat.

"Haven't you gotten into _enough_ trouble? Like since the day you were born?" Dani interrupted, arms crossed over her chest. He smirked at her.

"I'd... rather not say."

"Well, what shall I do with him, girls?" Carter asked, cutting into the conversation- or lack of. Both women looked back at him, glares on their faces.

"Let him out."

"Leave him in."

Niall looked up as Carter looked from Eri to Dani and back. "Which is it?" He asked.

"Let him out." Eri said again.

_"Leave him in."_ Dani replied through clenched teeth.

"Now that's _not fair, Dani! Ni didn't do anything wrong!..._ Did you?" Eri asked, turning to her baby brother. He shrugged, refusing to give up what he knew.

"_Right._ He's a felon, Eri. Just like I am, and just like Dad. He _belongs_ behind bars."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Eri snapped, stepping up to her sister until they were nose to nose. Although the older girl had mere inches on her sister, neither refused to back down.

"God, _what crawled up your ass_? You were never this bad when we were kids."

Both turned to look at the young man, who leaned against the bars, his hands dangling out in front of the bars. A silver bracelet was around his wrist, and he watched the girls with amused eyes, as though he hadn't watched his sisters argue in years- which he hadn't. Dani glared at him, before going over to the desk and picking up one of the bracelets. She pressed the button, and her brother jumped, letting out a yelp as a shock ran through him.

"Jackass."

"Dani! Give... give me that." It took several minutes befor Carter was able to wrestle the bracelet from her hands, and Jo shook her head, taking a seat behind his desk. "Behave." Dani snorted, going back to her brother. "So what do we do, Jo?" Jack asked, turning to look at the woman who had once been his deputy. She covered her face with her hands for a minute, sighing. When she looked up, she shrugged.

"I don't know, Jack. You've got my son behind bars, my daughters are working for GD, what do _you_ want to do?"

"I say we leave him in there. It'll give him a taste of what he'll be experiencing at _Rikers_." Dani said, glaring at her brother.

"No one asked for your opinion." Niall replied.

"_Danielle_, that's enough." Jo said, getting up and coming around to the front of the desk. Jack thought a moment, before going to Dani and opening the cell.

"How 'bout we just put her in there with him." He said, taking the woman's arm.

"Uncle Jack! Let go!" He gave her a good shove into the cell, but Jo stopped him from closing the door.

"Let her out." Jack turned to glance at his best friend.

_"Aw, come on-"_

"No! Let her out." Reluctantly, Jack did as told. But he grabbed one of the bracelets and clamped it on her wrist.

_"Hey!" _Dani glanced down at the bracelet Carter clamped onto her wrist and glared at him.

"You cause enough trouble alone. The last thing we need is the two of you in cahoots. Better to keep tabs on the two of you- two... birds one stone..." Carter pulled out a few more bracelets and handed one to Jo, who shook her head, before turning to Eri, who took it.

"Oh come on, Eri!" Dani glared at her sister.

"You know how to work this, right?" Jack asked. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, you just push the button and it shoots an electrical charge that's strong enough to shock but not kill." She said, clamping the bracelet on her wrist.

"Right, the... button." Jack said, looking for the button on his bracelet. After a moment, Dani pressed the button on hers. An electric charge came from Jack's and he screamed- a highly feminine scream.

"Found the button." Dani said, smirking. The whole thing brought a laugh from all three siblings, but Jo turned off the charge on the extra bracelet, glaring at her children. Quickly, Jack removed his bracelet and went to Dani. He removed hers and clamped his on her wrist.

"At least we know it works." Jo muttered.

"Shut up, Jo." Carter replied.

"Um, excuse me, but... how long do I have to wear this thing?" Niall asked, leaning against the bars.

"Until your uncle thinks your trustworthy." Jo said, going to the cell. She gave her son a small smile, taking his hand and squeezing. Dani rolled her eyes and Eri sighed in contentment, happy to have her family back together- despite the odd circumstances.

"And why do _I_ have to wear one?" Dani asked, looking at Carter.

"Because you're a pain in my ass." Carter replied. The girl curled her lip at him. He turned to Niall. "GD has an apartment for you, but frankly, I don't think you deserve it. No matter... the family connection, you're still a criminal with a felony record."

Niall rolled his eyes, scoffing. He wandered to the other side of the cell.

"You may think I'm a criminal," He started, glancing at his sisters. "but my mom loves me," He looked at Jo, who returned to the desk and leaned back against it, arms crossed over her chest. "and she wouldn't _appreciate_ you insulting her boy."

Carter rolled his eyes, before glancing nervously back at Jo, who pursed her lips in a _watch-what-you-say-about-my-kids-around-me_ look that Carter_ really_ didn't like. After a moment, she brushed her jacket aside, not bothering to hide the handgun at her hip. He swallowed.

He knew that Jo loved him, but he couldn't help being fearful- especially around her kids. And right now, he had all three in his office, so he got triple the fear. The reason? Because if they wanted, all three of them could take him down without so much as a 'Hello'. And Dani had knives- the girl and sharp weaponry was a bad combination all the way around, so he didn't push it.

"Yes, well, until I think I can trust you, you're staying here, Niall. Welcome home."

Eri groaned in annoyance, before grabbing her jacket and leaving, muttering something about 'keeping an eye on him at her apartment' and 'Uncle Jack's pansy-ass fear of the Lupo-Donovan kids.' Once she was gone, Dani turned back to her brother. She sighed.

"So, how much for your head?"

Niall chuckled softly. "Forty grand. You?" She pursed her lips, before shrugging.

"Oh, probably fifty grand if they'd actually caught and recruited me like you and Eri." She glanced back at Jo and Jack.

"What do you mean 'if'?" Niall asked.

"I wasn't recruited. I lost my job, and Uncle Doug gave me one here." She said, turning back to her brother.

"What'd you finally do? Pull a Lorena Bobbitt on a Senator?" Niall asked, laughing. Dani glared at him, before going to Jack and pressing the button on his bracelet. Two seperate buttons resided on his, one for each bracelet. Her brother yelped and pulled back, holding his hand.

After a moment, Dani grabbed her jacket and left, tossing the last word at her brother.

"Jackass."


	12. Chapter 12

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"So, I hear Niall is locked in your cell." Jack looked up as SARAH closed the door behind him. "Is he as handsome as Zane?"

"Good to see you too, SARAH." Jack said, hanging up his jacket. "And yes, Niall is back in Eureka, just like Erica and just like Dani. And... I'm not really sure how to respond to to that last question."

"Hey Dad. And, yes, SARAH, Niall is as handsome as Uncle Zane. If not more." Jenna said, coming into the living room. Jack glanced at her.

"How you doing, Jenna?" She shrugged.

"The usual. You? I mean, besides Niall being locked in your cell and Dani giving you problems."

"How did you-"

Jenna collasped on the sofa, a glass of iced tea in her hand.

"It's a small town, news travels fast." He nodded, taking a seat beside her as the door opened again and Allison entered, Jo reluctantly in tow.

"Hey, Ali... Jo, what are you doing here?" The Head of Security sighed.

"I ran into Allison on the way home, and... she invited me over for dinner."

A smile broke out on Jack's face. "That's great! It'll be just like old times! Us and the kids-"

"The kids aren't here." Allison said.

"Well, Erica is, she's... on a call outside, and... Niall's still locked up..."

"And Dani?" Jenna asked, getting up.

"Refusing to come inside." The others went to the door; Erica ended her call and joined them.

"She won't leave the- where'd she go?" Erica turned to Jo. "She was in the car when we got out, right, Mom?" Jo nodded. Jack glanced around, took a breath to call, and then decided against it, instead pushing the button on his bracelet. A shock sounded, along with a shout, and a handful of papers flew into the air, followed by the sound of something hitting the side of the car. After a few minutes, Dani climbed to her feet.

"What the hell was that for? I was working on blueprints to... rebuild my nuclear reformer." She rubbed her head, and came around the side of the car. After a moment, she crossed the street towards them, only to stop at the screech of tires. "What the- watch where you're going, you-"

The guy removed his helmet and cut the engine on his motorcycle. He got off the bike and went to help her-

"Well I didn't expect to see you here."

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Not you."

"Brett!" Erica rushed towards the younger man, wrapping him in a hug. "It's good to see you again!"

"You too, Erica." He gave her a quick smile before turning back to her sister.

"You didn't tell me your sister was in town." She wrinkled her nose.

"They recruited her." He nodded. "What... are you doing here anyway?"

"I live here."

"Not _here_-"

"On the lower part of Corilois Loop. A little closer to town. I went up to check on some research I'm doing for work." She nodded, glancing from him to the bike and back.

"Is... is that your bike?" She asked. He glanced down at the vehicle.

"Yeah..."

"Can I... try it out?" She asked, giving him a coy smile. He thought a moment, as though weighing the consequences. But then he handed over the helmet. Once she settled on it, he told her what to do- or tried. "I got it. I've ridden these before, okay?" He backed away, hands in the air. She gunned the engine, and took off. It was several minutes before she came back, and accelerated her speed, headed for Brett. He jumped out of the way, tossing Erica to the ground. Once she climbed off the bike, Dani tossed him the helmet.

"What the hell was that? Are you insane?" Brett cried, getting to his feet.

_"That was for taking my virginity at ten!"_ Dani snapped, going up to him. Then, she pulled back and slapped him so hard he stumbled back. _"That was for bragging about it at school the next afternoon!"_ She stormed off to the car and rummaged around in the car. Brett looked back at the others, and had to duck, as a small dagger flew past him, becoming wedged in the side of SARAH behind him.

"What the _hell was that for_?"

She glared at him, before climbing onto the Brett's bike and starting the engine.

_"For trying to kiss me in the lab!"_ And then, without explaining, she was gone. After a moment, Brett turned to everyone else. They were all silent, shocked beyond words at her reaction.


	13. Chapter 13

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"Nice try, trying to scare me." Her gaze snapped up, at the warmth of his breath. She slowly turned to find Brett standing behind her, hands on either side of her table, pinning her in place.

"Leave me alone, Haven." She said, turning back to her work. When he didn't, she grabbed his hand and twisted; the bones cracked, but she didn't break. Instead, she tightened her grip until he pulled away. "Leave me alone." He looked down at his hand, before turning back to her.

"I forgot how strong you were... but then again, it's also incredibly sexy." He whispered, getting closer to her ear. She rolled her eyes and turned, shoving him away as she moved to a nearby work table.

"And this, is the Partical Physics Lab-"

"Yeah, I know-"

"Ni? What are you doing here?" Dani turned, to see Allison coming into the partical physics lab, her younger brother in tow, Carter bringing up the rear, after Jo. He still wore the bracelet, but was free of the handcuffs Carter had left him in for the last few days.

"Hey Dan." Niall replied, going to his sister. The sixteen-year-old wrapped her in a hug, and Allison watched the two chat softly. She glanced at Jo, who seemed lost in her own thoughts as she watched her children.

_God, he looks like you, Zane._

Jo was right; in every aspect, from his blue eyes to that cocky, prideful smirk, and right down to the attitude, he was Zane through and through. Though nearly nine years younger than his father had been when he'd arrived in Eureka, Niall had spent the majority of his time getting into trouble along with Dani. All of Jo's kids had graduated high school around ten or eleven, but Niall had been gone the shortest amount of time.

And that was mainly because he'd spent the majority of the time being shipped back to Eureka from whereever the hell he happened to be at the time of his arrest. Unlike his sister- who, like Zane, was a master hacker, and had been responsible for more than _one_ crash of the New York Stock Exchange in her short eighteen years- Niall prefered to play with atoms and the strands of human DNA.

Unlike Eri, who delighted in curing and creating diseases. Although Ni had usually played guinea pig to Erica's experiments- from trying various cold remedies she'd thought up, to being injected with an experimental strain of non-fatal Syphilis, Ni had taken it in stride, _except_ when she decided to try crossing Smallpox and Swine flu. The boy had hidden in his room for weeks.

He was awful protective of his sisters, despite the age differences, and particularly, of Jo. Loving and gentle around his family, Niall didn't hesitate to go after someone who had taken a particular liking to his sisters or threatened his mother. He cared about Jo deeply- a trait that _particularly_ scared Jo, because of the deep unwavering affection Zane had had for _his_ mother.

_"You may think I'm a criminal, but my mom loves me and she wouldn't _appreciate_ you insulting her boy."_

Snarky, sarcastic, and seemingly unable to care about anyone's feelings but his own, Niall- like Dani- was antisocial. As antisocial as his father had been when he first came to Eureka. The desire to stay as unattached to the town and the people- minus his family- as possible, had prompted Jo to send Niall to Boston to visit his grandmother as a child. Helena had been estatic to have the little boy, and had demanded that Jo send the girls along the following summer, and even to come herself. Perhaps it was the strong resemblence between her son and grandson, or maybe it was just that the child needed more love than Eureka and Jo could give alone. Either way, summer trips to Boston had become a family tradition.

The way he wore his hair, how his undershirts were always partially untucked, the slim cut of his jeans... the smoothness of his face, and the seeming innocence of his blue eyes, all reminded Jo of Zane. The Zane she'd first met and the Zane she'd married. She could only imagine how her son would look as he got older.

_A heartbreaker, a charmer, just like his father._

She shivered, as he glanced back at her and smiled. Dani followed his gaze and gave her a quick wave. She nodded to her children, before returning to her own thoughts. Childish and a trouble maker, Niall had been accepted to eight different schools- mainly Ivies- and, like Zane before him, had been kicked out of each one.

Unlike Dani, who had run off after graduation and become a Mossad warrior and then officer, Niall had spent the majority of his post-graduation life prior to returning to Eureka permanently, bouncing from one city to another, from one country to another, leaving a string of broken hearts and destruction in his wake. So it was no surprise that he ended up back in his home town- especially since he'd been caught in Vegas, stripping the DNA of a local species and crossing it with that of an invasive one.

But underneath it all, he was still 'her boy'; her only son, and one of the loves of her life. Now, she watched him with his sister, relishing in the fact that all her children were back home. But the sudden hissing coming from a nearby test area interrupted her thoughts. Dani pulled away from her brother and rushed to the area, along with other physicists.

"What happened?" Carter asked, as he and Jo joined them.

"I don't know!" Dani cried, checking the formula on her computer. Suddenly the lights went out, and the ground shook, throwing everyone to the ground.

Carter's cry cut through the chaos. "That's not good!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

It was absolute chaos for several minutes, as the occupants of the partical physics lab in Section N struggled to get to their feet and assess the damage. As Dani climbed to her feet, Fargo rushed into the room.

"What's going on? Jo!" The Head of Security climbed to her feet and struggled to get her bearings. She turned to Fargo.

"I don't know. There was a hissing and... and suddenly the lights went out and the room started to shake. I..."

"Kats, come look at this." The older generation turned; Dani stood going through the calculations on her computer.

"What is it?" A girl with short blonde hair joined her, and the two conversed softly for several minutes. Jo, Fargo and the others eventually joined them.

"It looks like... I don't know." Dani said. And she had good reason.

On the screen, was some sort of code- either in Arabic or Pig Latin- that seemed to pulse.

"You know Pig, what's it say?" Niall asked, joining his sister. She rolled her eyes and glared at him over her shoulder.

"It's not Pig Latin, you idiot. It's Arabic. But it's encripted. I can't break it down." She said, turning to the others.

"Come on, Dan, you're a master hacker just like Zane was. You can hack your way into anything. Or out of. Remember the shackles I put you in when you were eight? You were out of them in less than five minutes once I'd turned my back." Carter said, giving the girl a big smile.

She rolled her eyes and turned to him. "First off, Uncle Jack, I'm _nothing_ like him. And second, what does my being shackled at eight and then getting out of them have to do with this anyway? And third, it wasn't five minutes, it was two." She returned her attention to the code on her computer. "I can't get into it. It's not possible. Whoever designed this code, knows computers just as well or better than I do. There's no way I can get in."

"Well as long as you aren't hurt." Allison said. Dani nodded, biting her lip.

"We're all fine, Dr. Blake." One of the other physicts said.

"Yeah, if you call looking like a horse fine." Everyone turned to stare at Dani. She stood examining her nails, and looked up when every head had turned her way. "What?"

"Dani, are you feeling okay?" Carter asked, going to her.

"Fine, why?" She asked.

"You just seem off- snappy." He replied.

"Well aren't you the genius of the group." She said, giving him a sarcastic smile. Carter glanced at Jo, who went to her daughter and took her arm.

"Okay, Dani, maybe you should go with Allison and make sure you don't have a concussion." Gently, she pushed her daughter towards the door, and after a moment, Allison followed.

"What was that all about?" Niall asked, watching long after the two women had disappeared down the hall.

"I have no clue." Jo said, laying a hand on her son's back.

"It's almost like... we caught her in a bad mood." Carter mused.

"Well, considering the hell she's been through in the last couple days, I don't blame her." Jo said.

Three hours later, Erica entered Cafe Diem and joined her sister at the table. Having been found to have a minor concussion, Allison had sent Dani home, something that the younger woman wasn't happy about.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Erica said, sliding into the seat across from her sister. Dani looked up from her phone, shrugging. "What's with you?"

"Nothing. Just, still a little upset about Aunt Allison sending me home."

"Oh I heard about that. It's like a code?" Dani nodded, as Leo set their coffee before them. The two women sat in silence for several minutes, before Erica asked, "So, have you and Brett talked since your little... incident?"

Her sister glared at her. "If you mean by talk then you mean tried to get me to take my clothes off, then yes, we talked."

"Must you be sarcastic?" Erica asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Must you be such a bitch?" Dani countered, mirroring her sister's tone and facial expression.

"If you gave him a chance, then you might find that the two of you work well together. And not just in the partical physics lab, but in other places." Eri said, leaning close so as not to be overheard.

"Now you're being ridiculous." Dani said. "All Brett's looking for is a booty call, and I won't be his."

"Now who's being the bitch?" Her sister asked. "If you'd give people a chance, you might find that you actually like being a part of a community."

"I'm not going to turn into you, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes."

"I'm not a- look, I'm just saying that if you weren't so sarcastic, you'd actually enjoy living here." After a moment, Dani got up, grabbing her bag and going to the door. "Where are you going, Dani?"

"I _hate_ you." Sarcasm tinged her words as she went pulled the door open.

"I _love_ you!" Erica called. Dani turned back to look at her sister.

_"BITE ME!"_ Dani snapped, slamming the door.

Everyone turned towards the arguement. After a moment, Niall turned to Carter.

"Sarcasm runs in the family."


	15. Chapter 15

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Thanks to Guest for reviewing 14.**

"She's got a minor concussion, and that, coupled with all the stress of the last few weeks could be causing her attitude change. Give her time." The others listened as Allison talked, before looking at Dani, who leaned against the railing, between her siblings. "Let her settle into her new place, and give her time to readjust to being here, and she'll be fine."

Carter turned to look at the siblings. "So, Dani, do you want to see your new place?"

She slammed the car door shut and walked up the walk to her new place. "It's a... Tardis house."

"A what?" Niall asked, turning to his sister as he joined her, Erica behind him. The older adults joined them.

"Small on the outside, big on the..." At her brother's confused look, she dropped her hands. "Never mind."

She pulled the keys out of her pocket and went up the steps to the porch. The house had a small wrap around porch. Once she stepped inside, she found herself in a small living room, off the kitchen, with a study in the back, near the back door. Once she made her way up the stairs, she found two bedrooms and a full back, with a small office on the second floor.

"Well, what do you think, Dani?" She shrugged, refusing to show everyone how thrilled with it she really was.

"Eh, it's okay." Jo rolled her eyes. "Just don't let some egghead burn it down, Dani girl." She said, patting her daughter's shoulder. The kids all turned to her, confused.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Eri asked.

"It's a... long story."

"We have time." Niall said, crossing his arms. But before Jo could respond, the sound of a motorcycle's engine cutting out made everyone go out onto the porch. Except for Dani, who returned to her exploration of her new home. But the sudden silence that met her as she came back downstairs, unnerved her enough to go to the door.

A black motorcycle sat at the curve, familiar, even though she hadn't seen it in years. But after a moment, her eyes ran up to the man standing on the porch. He watched her, his blue eyes tracing her features. His thick black hair- so similar to her mother's- was slightly disheveled. She noticed that he was still the same toned, muscled man she remembered wrapping her arms around as a little girl. After a moment of tense silence, he gave her his trademark smile- her smile, she realized with horror.

"There's my little Joey." She closed her eyes quickly, trying to shake the memories that came rushing back- memories of a childhood trauma that would never leave her.

"_You have more than just me who needs you! Your children need you too!"_

_He stormed out of the house, ignoring the three children who were huddled near the stairs. As the door nearly closed, the youngest daughter rushed from the house, hurrying down the steps and throwing her arms around his waist. She buried her face in his pants and sobbed. _

_"Don't go Daddy! Please!" _

_The little girl looked up when the man knelt down to her level. He looked into her dark eyes, seeing the tears, before kissing her forehead and getting up. Then, he went to his bike and climbed on, gunning the engine and leaving, as her mother rushed down the steps, her siblings in tow. _

_"Zane!"_

_She didn't hear her mother's scream, as she rushed after the bike. When he was too far out of sight, she stopped. _

_"Daddy!"_

Her eyes snapped open, hoping against hope that he'd been a figment of her imagination, but no, he stood before her, taking in her appearance. After a moment, he reached out, to caress her cheek.

"You've grown up so much since I last saw you. You must be... nineteen, twenty? You're beautiful, just like your mother."

_"I hate my eyes."_

_"They're beautiful eyes, you know why? You've got Mommy's eyes."_

_"I want your eyes." _

_"I wouldn't want my eyes for anything, Joey love."_

She took a deep breath. In three words, she conveyed everything that was rolling around in her head at the moment, as she pulled away from him before slamming the door.

_"Go to hell."_


End file.
